1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a surgical retractor including rotatable knobs for a surgical access port to be inserted through an incision formed in the body of a patient. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a surgical access port having a flexible sleeve and rotatable knobs engageable with the flexible sleeve to rotate a proximal end of the flexible sleeve against an outer surface of the patient's body.
2. Background of Related Art
Various surgical procedures are performed in a minimally invasive manner. This includes forming a small incision through a body wall of the patient and inserting an access port through the incision to protect the wound created by the incision and provide a pathway for the insertion of surgical instruments. However, minimally invasive surgery, such as laparoscopy, has several limitations. In particular, surgery of this type requires a great deal of skill in manipulating the long narrow endoscopic instruments to a remote site under endoscopic visualization. To this end, hand-assisted laparoscopic techniques and procedures have been developed. These procedures include both laparoscopic and conventional surgical methodologies. The hand assisted technique is performed in conjunction with a hand access port which is an enlarged device positionable in, for example, the insufflated abdominal cavity, through the incision.
When choosing an access port, care must be taken to ensure that the access port has sufficient length to completely pass through the body wall of the patient. Additionally, the access port must be chosen such that it does not extend too far into the body cavity and obstruct the surgical procedure. Often times it is necessary to access a large area of the body cavity with a minimal number of access ports. In this situation, the surgeon is often limited by the angle at which the surgeon can insert surgical instruments through the access port. Further, care must be taken to prevent movement of the access port during the surgical procedure.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a surgical access port which is adjustable to provide a low-profile relative to the outer surface of the patient's body in order to achieve a greater range of access for the surgeon's hand and/or the surgical instruments inserted through the surgical access port. Additionally, it is further desirable to provide a surgical access port which can be secured or locked into position about the tissue penetrated regardless of the thickness of the tissue encountered.